


Atonement Doesn't Mean Forgiveness

by razorbladetheunicron



Series: Epithet Emptied [2]
Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But also, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, but also give all the hugs, i'm sorry sheep boy, or this one won't make sense, read the previous story, sylvie needs to get all the hugs, this is gonna be longer than the last story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21881368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/razorbladetheunicron/pseuds/razorbladetheunicron
Summary: [Cancelled]Sylvie (or Knockout, depending on who you're talking to) is doing much better now. Sure, he still has a bad dream every now and then, but not terrible and vivid nightmares like before. And he even has friends now.But just because the Arsene Amulet has been destroyed doesn't mean everything is fixed. Mera and Indus don't know the amulet has been destroyed. The police don't know the amulet has been destroyed. (What they don't know is who *does* know that the amulet has been destroyed.)The museum was just the start of a long fight to get the Arsene Amulet, and they've hit the hard part.
Relationships: Giovanni Potage & Banzai Blasters, Mera Salamin & Indus Tarbella, Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage, Molly Blyndeff & Mera Salamin, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Giovanni Potage, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Mera Salamin, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Molly Blyndeff, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage, Sylvester "Syvlie" Ashling & Banzai Blasters
Series: Epithet Emptied [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574212
Comments: 31
Kudos: 182





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the second story in the Epithet Emptied universe! Note that these stories branch off from episode four, but they will include information and such from the episodes after. With that said... enjoy!

The standard procedure for anyone visiting a prison, whether mundie or inscribed, is to wear eraser bracelets (similar to eraser cuffs, but they don't lock) when in the visiting room. The simple reason is the same as for why any gifts or letters are carefully examined before being given to prisoners. (Safety is extremely important when it comes to criminals, especially those with more dangerous epithets.)

Sometimes, however, exceptions can be made (usually involving medical conditions). Usually, though, the reasoning is given beforehand and examined for validity. An exception is not normally made because of someone having a panic attack seconds after eraser bracelets are placed on them.

Sylvie has never worn eraser bracelets in his life, so until a few seconds ago, he didn't know what they felt like to have on. It isn't like the emptiness of losing his epithet, but it has the same hallow feeling of nothing being there. He vaguely hears someone asking a question, before frantically yanking the bracelets off and throwing them across the room.

"Goodness!" cries Percy in surprise, while Sylvie slumps against the nearby wall and tries to slow his breath. "Are you quite alright, Dr. Ashling?"

"Y-yeah," replies Sylvie, taking in a deep breath. "My apologies, detective. They just felt like when... my epithet was taken."

"Ah," she contemplates for a moment. "You may enter without the eraser bracelets. You are certainly trustworthy to enter without them. My sincerest apologies for causing you any harm."

He sighs in relief. "Thank you, detective. I shouldn't be long, anyways."

Sylvie enters the visiting room, where a single person sits bored on the other side. They immediately look up when he steps in, and frown in confusion. "I thought it would have been the girl."

"Knowing Molly, she will assuredly visiting you soon," Sylvie replies, taking a seat in front of the window. "I'm sure Indus will enjoy seeing her."

"Skip the small talk, kid," says Mera with her arms folded in front of her, eraser cuffs plain to see. "I know you wouldn't be here without a reason."

"Very well. Know that I am only doing this since you deserve to know." Mera raises an eyebrow. "It's been destroyed."

Her eyes widen. "You mean the Ars-"

"Yes," interrupts Sylvie quickly, glancing over at a security camera in the room.

She understands immediately. "And you haven't handed it over? Didn't take you for that type."

"I want to be sure it's unusable. So that even if someone gets it again, it won't matter." He continues before Mera can speak, "And _no,_ I will not try to use it myself."

Mera pauses for a moment. "... What did it feel like when I took your epithet?" she asks quietly.

Sylvie glares at her. "Like you ripped out a part of my soul and left me in _agony_. You know, you should be glad that you didn't take Molly's suggestion. Because having your epithet _taken_ hurts more than all of the pain you've felt throughout your life." He pauses to catch his breath, trying to stay calm, "You don't deserve to have an epithet that hurts you. Nobody deserves something like that."

"Kid..."

"I may have a vendetta against you, Mera, but it goes against everything I've learned to just leave you suffering. I'll see what I can do to help you with your epithet." He starts to get up to leave, but pauses. "Just know that if you _ever_ try to hurt any of my friends again, I'll go all-out on you. Consider yourself lucky that you already have a nightmare to deal with, or it would be worse."

* * *

Sylvie walks out the prison gripping his jacket tightly, having needed to leave it behind when he went to speak with Mera. Having the police find out that he had the broken pieces of the Arsene Amulet in his pocket would have been problematic. (And yes, he did end up having lied to Molly about handing it over to the police, but that really had been his original goal.)

It had been a week since the amulet had been destroyed. A week of always carrying the broken pieces with him and worrying that at any moment they could be stolen. What if the amulet still worked, or could be fixed? What if he gave it to the police, but it was then stolen? What if... what if... There were just too many possibilities. Sylvie has to be sure that the amulet can _never_ be used again.

Sitting at the bus station, Sylvie pulls out a small book from his other pocket. It's the Banzai Blaster manual, which Giovanni had lent to him ("So you can see how amazing we are! You could be a cool minion like Bear Trap!"). Honestly, the entire book is a mess of contradictions and exploitations that can all be simplified to "higher rank means you're better, losers". It does, however, include a few helpful tidbits sprinkled throughout.

Sylvie pulls out his phone and dials the number for the appraiser listed in the manual. It rings several times, before someone with a gruff voice picks up.

"Hello? Who is this?" Then, in a slightly threatening tone, "How did you get this number?"

"Are you Ramsey Murdoch, as listed in the Banzai Blaster manual?" asks Sylvie, not caring about the tone.

"... Yes."

"This indicates that you are to be contacted for appraising likely valuable items. I believe I have one you would find of interest."

"Is that so? Mind telling me what it is?"

Sylvie pauses for a slight dramatic affect. "The Arsene Amulet."

There's a low whistle on the other end. "Really? Well, now you've got my attention. Let's-" A loud thump followed from something shattering sounds. "Listen kid, I can't talk over the phone. I have a little hideaway in a town up north called Redwood Run. Ever hear of it?"

"I can't say I have."

"Exactly. Meet me there in two day's time. I'll be in the house with a metal roof. Got it?"

"Understood."

"Good."

There's a click as the phone hangs up on the the other side. Sylvie lets out a breath of relief, and puts the manual back in his pocket. Hopefully any issues with the amulet can be dealt with quickly, and he can relax once again. Be at Redwood Run in two days, and go to the house with a metal roof. Should be easy enough.

Then he pauses.

"Wait, how do I get there if I can't drive?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it did just take some on Ramsey's lines directly from the show. I assume he starts suspicious of everyone who calls him at first.
> 
> Off to Redwood Run! Sylvie may be in for some trouble...


	2. Chapter Two

The last time Sylvie has been in a vehicle other than a bus was when he was in the ambulance going from the museum. He normally doesn't ride in cars since he can't drive yet and didn't have any friends who could drive him places. Checking the bus schedule doesn't work, since Redwood Run isn't listed on anything, and was a pain to even find out where it was to begin with.

He can't ask Giovanni to drive him, since that would entail explaining what exactly he was up to. Molly can't drive either, and he isn't exactly comfortable speaking to her father. (He still doesn't know that Giovanni and Sylvie exist, let alone that they're Molly's friends.) So that leaves... the Banzai Blasters. Giovanni did give him everyone's phone numbers on the night they broke the amulet.

Sylvie hasn't ever properly met the Blasters. Sometimes Giovanni stops at the toystore with some of them following him, but the most interaction has been them greeting him as "Knockout" and Sylvie responding with a simple "hello". He doesn't even know any of their real name, since the contacts Giovanni gave him has them all listed with their nicknames. (Except for Ben. Does he not have a nickname or something?)

Scrolling through his small amount of contacts, there's Ben, Car Crash, Crusher, Dark Star, Flamethrower, Giovanni, Molly, and Spike listed as his new ones. He pauses and sighs. Well, there's at least one of the Blasters that knows how to drive. Though clearly it's a _stupid_ option (no offense, though), it's the only one he has left.

Sitting on the couch in his apartment, Sylvie calls Car Crash and wonders what has happened to his brain cells recently.

"Hello?"

"Hey, uh, it's Sylvie. Or, um, Knockout." (Why did he do this, this was a terrible idea.)

"Oh, hey, Knockout! Did Boss give you all our numbers?" Car Crash asks rather excitedly.

"Yeah," he says somewhat awkwardly. "So, I need some help with something."

"Sure thing, man! Any friend of Boss is a friend of mine!"

"Oh, thanks." (Friends are still somewhat of a foreign concept to him.) "I need to be at this place, Redwood Run, in two days, but I need someone to drive me there."

There's a pause. "... You want _me_ to drive you there?"

"I mean, if you can?" (This was a dumb idea, this was an awful idea-)

"Absolutely, man!" Wait, what? "It's no problem at all! Just tell me when and where to pick you up!"

Sylvie relaxes, and calmly tells Car Crash his apartment address and the time to pick him up at. Before hanging up, he quickly asks, "Hey, so, Giovanni put you guys in as your Blaster names, so I was wondering, um, what your actual name was?" 

"No worries, Knockout, it's Fred. You want me to try and call you Sylvie?"

"I... don't really care. Whatever's easier for you."

"Alright, man! See you later! Bye!"

"Bye."

Sylvie exhales in relief, and slumps down on the couch. Getting closer to the goal every minute. Now he just needs to find an excuse as to why he can't go into work in two days...

* * *

Redwood Run is _really_ far out from Sweet Jazz City. Physically, it's not that far away, but the amount of backroads that have to be taken to get there is absurd. It doesn't help that Fred (who's the Blaster who usually has a bandage on his nose) seems like he's going to live up to his nickname at any minute and really shouldn't even have a licence.

But he's also really nice, and doesn't even ask Sylvie why he needs to be driven out to the middle of nowhere. Instead he asks about what Sylvie does for his job, and seems genuinely interested about his research on epithets. It makes his feel something similar to when he's with Giovanni and Molly, but it's also way different; all in a good way.

"-so what could make you think that someone has an epithet?" asked Fred, continuing a discussion that they were in the middle of.

"The most obvious are powers that are shown," replied Sylvie. "Which would likely be triggered at moments of extreme emotion. But for more subtle details, it would likely be how they react to specific things. For example, I never had any trouble falling asleep when I was younger, so that was an indicator for having a sleep-related epithet."

"So like, if a person seems to be talking to people that you can't see and it _freaks you out_ , would that show they have an epithet?"

Sylvie pauses for a moment. "I'm assuming this isn't a hypothetical scenario."

Fred sighs. "No... it's just that sometimes Ben seems like he's off in another world and-"

The GPS interrupts by indicating they have reached the destination, and Sylvie gets jolted forward in his seat by how suddenly Fred stops the car. His checks to make sure the amulet pieces are still in his pocket before unbuckling and starting to get out.

"Thanks for driving me here," says Sylvie, glancing at the rough path going into the woods.

"It was no problem, man!" replies Fred cheerfully, also glancing at the path. "What do you even need to do all the way out here?"

"I'm meeting someone here." _House with the metal roof._ "Will you be able to pick me up later?"

"Wait, you're going alone in some suspicious-looking woods?" Fred looks at Sylvie like he's insane. "Isn't that a bad idea?"

Sylvie rolls his eyes. "Real life isn't some cliché horror movie. And besides, I can handle myself in a fight if necessary." He turns and starts heading towards the path, but hears Fred quickly clambering out of the car. He sighs and comes to a stop as Fred runs up to him. "What?"

"Boss says to always look out for each other, no matter what!" Fred tugs at his sweatshirt sleeve nervously. "And like, I don't doubt that you can keep yourself safe or something like that. It's just that... what if you did get hurt? Then I'll feel like it was my fault for not helping you."

 _And what if he hadn't grabbed Mera's leg, which made her stop for at least a single moment longer?_ Sylvie sighs again, and continues walking. "Let's go."

"Wait, really?" Fred smiles, and quickly follows after him.

"Yeah, yeah," he glances at Fred. "But if you're going to be paranoid the whole time, you at least have a weapon or something, right?"

"Uh..."

Sylvie pulls out his yo-yo and tosses it to him. "Here, so you at least have something. But nothing's going to go wrong, you understand that?"

"Sure, man! If you say so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of Ben having a creepy epithet comes entirely from "strangle you, strangle me" by Beanus. My version is far more... tame. Either way, I'll likely leave it completely ambiguous as to whether he has an epithet or not, since that's not the focus here.


	3. Chapter Three

The first thing that comes to mind when Sylvie walks into Redwood Run is that the place is a decrepit mess. The buildings all seem to be made of rotting wood and dirt, barely able to still be standing. The second thing that comes to mind, though, is actually far more important.

"That's a lot of Banzai Blasters," says Fred, confused. "Why are they all out here?"

"Doesn't matter," replies Sylvie. "Do you see a place with a metal roof?"

"What?"

"A house with a metal roof. That's where I'm meeting with someone." A cluster of Blasters look over at Sylvie and Fred, and he glares at them in return. "I'm assuming there's only one building here that fits the criteria, given the rather vague description."

"Oh, uh..." Fred glances around, and points at a building across from them. "That one!"

Sylvie looks over at the building, which looks ever-so-slightly more study than all of the other ones. It has a thin metal roof, and the word "SHERIFF" adorning the top. Though, the first three letters have fallen off and are lying on the roof. There's what looks like a hastily painted star next to the remaining letters.

"There's a sheriff out here?" Sylvie mutters mostly to himself. "Then why are there a bunch of Banzai Blasters walking around?"

"Um, hey, Knockout?" asks Fred nervously. "I don't think we should just stand out in the open here..."

"What?"

"Those other Banzai Blasters are starting to stare..."

Looking away from the building, Sylvie finds that Fred is right. He can see some of them not-so-subtly pulling out her peashooters, and a trio off three girls wearing bows on their helmets slipping off into the bar while looking at them. Having to fight them all would be annoying, so Sylvie simply grabs Fred's wrist and walks towards the sheriff building.

None of the Blasters do anything while they walk over, though Sylvie can tell that Fred is still pretty scared. But nothing happens until they get over to the sheriff building, when there's a sudden yell from back near the bar.

"Hold it right there, you non-Banzais!" yells a whiny-sounding voice.

Sylvie exhales sharply in frustration, and turns around. There are two distinctly-different looking Blasters standing outside the bar. One is round with obnoxious red hair, and the other is twiggy with black and white slicked-back hair. Fred makes a panicked sound at seeing them, and steps back so he's slightly behind Sylvie.

"What exactly do you think you're doing here?" asks the round one, starting to walk over. "This town doesn't allow _outsiders_ to wander about."

"Does it look like I _care?"_ snaps Sylvie, clutching the amulet tightly.

"Oh, so you think you can just talk back to us?" jeers the twiggy one. "Why, Bugsy, I think he's trying to stand up to us!"

"How amusing, Arnold!" Bugsy laughs coldly. "Do you even know who we are? We're Banzai _Vice Principals!"_ Fred makes a distressed sound behind Sylvie. "The _third_ of the seven Banzai ranks!"

"Like I said," says Sylvie icily. " _I don't care."_

Arnold smirks. "Guess we'll just have to show you what happens around here to non-Banzais..."

"W-we are Banzais!" yells Fred in a panic. "I'm a Blaster!"

That catches Arnold and Bugsy off-guard for a moment. Sylvie glances up a Fred, who looks down at him nervously. If Sylvie needs to act like he's a part of this inane mess to get out without a fight, he'll do it.

"So what?" asks Arnold finally, looking annoyed. "You're just two misplaced Blasters who need to be taught a lesson!"

"I'm not a Blaster!" says Sylvie, thinking quickly. "As _if_ I could be at a rank so low."

"Y-yeah!" adds in Fred, trying to remember how Banzai ranks work. "He's a, uh... Banzai A-Associate Justice! R-right, Kn- Boss?"

"Right." He stands tall and crosses his arms. "The rank _above_ Vice Principal." (Thank goodness he read all of that ridiculous manual.)

"So what you're saying is..." says Bugsy slowly. "If we beat you up, we get to go up a rank!" Sylvie refrains from hissing out a swear under his breath. "You and your worthless minion have no chance against all of us!"

"Minions!" yells Arnold. " _Attack!"_

* * *

Ramsey has had a very relaxing day so far. He's been in Redwood Run for about a day and a half now, and there's been no indication that Zora's found him yet. The sheriff basically lets him do whatever, and gives him whatever food he asks for. (And pine cones with straws in them, which he's completely baffled by, but elects to just not talk about.)

Right now, the sheriff is at the bar to get his "alphabet soup, hold the soup", so he's just reclining in his chair. The kid who called about the Arsene Amulet ought to arrive soon, so that means he'll either get to be very impressed or laugh at another stupid Banzai who thinks their piece of garbage is worth a million.

The door suddenly bangs open, and he nearly falls out of his chair in surprise. There are gunshots sounding outside, and the door slams shut, followed by the sound of a rusted lock being used. There must be a fight going on outside, and some of the Banzais must have decided to hide.

"What do we do, Knockout?" asks someone frantically. "We're totally outnumbered!"

"I'm trying to think!" cries a second, much younger-sounding voice. "Isn't there supposed to be a _sheriff_ here or something?!"

Feeling rather helpful, Ramsey calls out, "He went on his lunch break, probably won't be back for a while."

Footsteps quickly start up, and then there are two kids standing outside his cell. The older one wearing a yellow jacket looks like he's currently panicking, and the younger one wearing glasses looks like he's _about_ to panic. Neither of them look like Banzai Blasters.

The younger one looks at him with narrowed eyes, seeming to completely ignore his rat face and gold eye. (The older one does _not_ ignore them.) "Are you Ramsey Murdoch?"

Wait, _this_ is the kid who called about the amulet? He doesn't even look like he's old enough to drive. "You the one who called about the amulet?"

The kid relaxes, while the other one just looks more confused. "Fred, can you stay near the door and make sure nobody gets in?"

"Uh, okay?" He looks at Ramsey nervously for a moment, before going back over towards the door.

The kid waits until Fred is out of slight, before facing towards Ramsey. He sticks his hand through the bar, and Ramsey shakes it. "Sylvester Ashling. Thank you for accepting my request."

"Ey, it's no problem!" Well, if this Sylv kid isn't gonna ask about his eye or why he's in jail, Ramsey isn't gonna ask how he got his hands on the Arsene Amulet. "I do my appraisals as... well, a public service of sorts." He grins to show off his gold tooth, but Sylv really doesn't seem to care. "I make sure other people don't get conned outta all their hard work! So, mind showin' me that amulet?"

Sylv reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a plastic bag with gold and green in it. "I wish to know it's functionality, not selling value."

"No worries, buddy. I can just tell ya both." Ramsey takes the plastic bag from Sylv and opens it up. "Alrighty, let's see what we got... here..."

The amulet is broken. No, not broken. The amulet is _destroyed_. _The Arsene Amulet is destroyed._ The gem is shattered to pieces, the gold chain has come apart in places, and the kid is just staring at him like the amulet is _supposed_ to look like this.

"Like I said, I wish to know it's functionality." Sylv glares at him, a haunted look hiding behind his glasses.

" _You_ broke it?" asks Ramsey incredulously. "Kid, are you _insane_ _?_ Why would you-"

" _Because I had my epithet stolen!"_ He practically screams, tears starting to drip down his cheeks. "So tell me, _can it still be used?!"_

"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" He wasn't expecting _anything_ like this. "Just give me a sec, okay?" Okay, okay, focusing on the gem. It's dull green emerald shards, with no epithet glow. There's no sense of any sort of powers emanating from it. It's just a bunch of scraps of metal and gemstone. "No, this thing is completely worthless. There's no chance it's ever gonna work again."

Sylv looks at him nervously. "Are you sure?" he asks in a broken voice, sounding so _so_ young and afraid.

"Don't worry, kiddo." Ramsey hands the amulet shards back to Sylv, and gently places a hand on his shoulder. "You're all good. That amulet ain't worth anything to anybody."

Sylv gives a small smile, and shoves the shards in his pocket. "Thank you. I just... I had to be sure."

"Knockout!" Fred suddenly comes back over, looking worried. "I thought I saw someone really tall walking around to this side of the building."

Ramsey's eyes widen nervously, and Sylv looks up a Fred. "What? Was it a Blaster?"

"They weren't wearing a uniform, so I don't think so."

Ramsey quickly turns towards the bars on the windows, seeing a flash of orange and brown fabric. "Oh no." Sylv and Fred both look at him. "You kids need to leave, right now."

Sylv frowns, trying to look at what Ramsey saw. "What?"

Ramsey easily pushes the cell door open, and tries to push Sylv towards the entrance. "Just get going before she-"

"Why, Ramsey, I didn't know you suddenly cared about other people." Ramsey jumps and whirls around, grabbing onto Sylv's wrist in one hand and Fred's in other, just as a gun comes into view. "'Specially those that I'm lookin' for."


End file.
